Aquatic One Health—The Intersection of Marine Wildlife Health, Public Health, and Our Oceans

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Background

Humans worldwide are directly and indirectly affected by our oceans and coastlines. Threats to human health and well-being arising along coastal waters, the greater oceans, and regional seas are recognized. Mankind’s past and present use of the ocean ecosystems as a waste sink have had significant wide-ranging and negative effects on marine life, as well as human health. Infectious diseases, harmful algal blooms, chemicals, plastics, and contaminated seafood are just a few examples of the evidence that marine ecosystems are in distress. The intensive use of oceans is one of the many factors stressing ocean health and in turn affecting human health. As humans can threaten ocean health, so, too, may oceans threaten public health. The interrelatedness of environmental, animal and public well-being forms the basis of the 'One Health' concept, a framework to guide research and conservation efforts by studying not only animal health in isolation, but also within the context of public and environmental health.

Understanding the factors and processes contributing to marine wildlife health is important since many of these animals are important sentinel species that provide insight into environmental health and potential public health concerns. Marine megafauna consume much of the same food that humans do and swim in shared coastal waters but they are exposed to possible health threats in the ocean on a continuous basis. Marine species of many taxa may illuminate the means by which marine ecosystems may impact public health presently, and in the future. Preserving and better understanding the biodiversity of the oceans will also preserve the products that humans abstract from them such as food, natural products (e.g., precious metals, oil), and pharmaceuticals. Preserving ocean health is also beneficial for productive activities related to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. One Health is a holistic way to integrate this. Our objective for this Research Topic is to provide original research and review articles of marine wildlife and aquaculture disease processes, conditions, and health issues that demonstrate the potential to intimately influence public health within the One Health framework in terms of scope, delimitations, and challenges from scientific and/or policy perspectives.

Manuscripts from geographic areas not historically well-covered in the marine wildlife and aquaculture disease literature are particularly encouraged. They will be selected based on their relevance to marine ecosystems, impact on public, animal, and environmental health, and relevance for the region(s) in which the study has been conducted, or global level if appropriate. The integration of findings from a regional and global perspective under a single Research Topic format will enable a comparative approach to identify disease and health findings common to specific geographic regions. This in turn will help to characterize health and disease patterns that may impact multiple taxa and also be of value to environmental and public health practitioners. The Research Topic will also provide important management information for future conservation policies.

Keywords: one health, marine megafauna, marine wildlife, sea turtles, aquaculture, marine mammals, corals, disease, invertebrates

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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